A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Gui'er stood in the porch, watching the tenants with innocent smiles on their faces. Some offered freshly picked oranges to Dingxiang, while others chatted with the headman about next year's seeds. The door to the warehouse was open, and inside, the harvest from previous years had already been stacked: jars of pickles, air-dried ham, and piles of cotton wool, all the customary offerings from the farm.

Sha Yanxiao came out of the study, took the account book handed to him by the official, flipped through it casually, and said to the head of the village: "This year's rent is exempted by 30%. Is it all recorded in the account book?"

"I'll remember!" The village head nodded quickly. "The tenants all say that the second young master is considerate. After the autumn harvest this year, he took the initiative to repair the canal. Next year's harvest will definitely be better."

Dingxiang brought the oranges she had found to Gui'er. She took a bite and found them indeed sweet. Sha Yanxiao turned around and saw him, smiling, saying, "The farm has had a good harvest. I'll pick some up when I get back. Send them to your brother so they can have a better time."

Gui'er quickly said, "Thank you, brother."

Sha Yanxiao turned around and asked the housekeeper, "Has the harvest from the farm over at the main house been handed in?"

The housekeeper thought for a moment and said, "Our farm is next to theirs, so it should be today as well."

The village headman interrupted, "It was today. Old Zhou over there was drinking with me last night. He said it was going to be a busy day. Oh, and there aren't any hunters in their village, so they don't have much game. It's just some rabbits that the tenant farmers catch in their free time. It's nothing like our wild boars, ducks, and pheasants."

After hearing what the village head said, Sha Yanxiao paused for a moment and said, "Since there's little game over there, let's pick out two fat pheasants and half a wild boar and have them sent over."

Gui Er was curious about the deal with the eldest wife, so she said with a smile, "I'll go and take a look. I'll also say hello to the lady."

The two men, accompanied by several servants, carried heavy loads of game to the main house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw it was much busier than their own. The bluestone pavement was almost completely filled with baskets, and tenants were carrying sacks toward the warehouse. The accountant, wearing reading glasses, stood behind a long table, clacking away on his abacus, with a pile of account books beside him.

The most eye-catching thing was several carts of colorful silk fabrics piled up under the corridor, as well as several pieces of Western-style floral fabrics, which were obviously extra gifts from Zhuangzi.

The entrance to the warehouse was even more extravagant: jars of Shaoxing rice wine, whole slices of cured meat, baskets of dried goods, and even jars of the finest bird's nests and sea cucumbers, all hand-counted and stored by the housekeeper. Jin Bao stood nearby, directing the maids to carry several bolts of silk into his room while no one was paying attention, muttering, "This peacock blue one's perfect for Chengshi's little jacket, and that bright red one's for New Year's greetings."

The lady sat on the armchair in the corridor, twirling her Buddhist beads in her hand, looking at the scene before her with a bit of pride on her face. Seeing Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er come in, she put down the beads and stood up with a smile: "Yanxiao, Gui'er is here too?"

Sha Yanxiao asked the servants to put down the game and said calmly, "Mother, the harvest on the farm is good. We have more game to nourish you and your elder brother."

"You're so thoughtful." The lady gestured to the butler to accept it. "Speaking of which, this year's harvest is quite good. We've collected over twenty bolts of silk and satin alone. But there are so many people in the mansion, so there won't be much left after dividing it all. I was thinking of giving two bolts to you all to make clothes. But thinking about the fifth and sixth sons, their children are still young and will need them for many things, I won't give them to you for now."

She said to Sha Yanxiao and Gui'er, "Although you have separated from the family now, we are still family. If you need anything, just tell us. We can give you something, but it won't be much."

Anyone can tell that this is just nice talk from the lady.

"Thank you, mother, for your concern. Everything is fine here." Sha Yanxiao bowed slightly. "You and big brother, please take care of yourselves. If you need anything, please let the servants pass on the message."

The two were talking politely when Gui'er caught a glimpse of Miss Tian dragging Sha Yanyao towards the ear room, her face flushed red.

She couldn't help gossiping and pretended to watch the people in the village counting their things, so she moved over there.

Miss Tian lowered her voice and said angrily, "Look at me! Why was I so blind to marry you? I let you snatch the position of Marshal, and you didn't dare to take it. Now the things you pay to the head of the manor are not as good as others."

Sha Yanyao frowned, impatient but forced to perfunctorily say, "Keep your voice down! What's the point of saying this now? Father has been training my second brother to be his successor, and the generals in the army all listen to him. Do you think this position is so easy to take? If you're not careful, you might even lose your life. And even though he's the commander-in-chief now, he doesn't have as many farms as we do. After all, Mother is the head of the family, and he has to honor her, so he sent us some good things."

"You are such a loser. It's a waste for me to marry you." Miss Tian raised her voice, "He Sha Yanxiao is just a..." Before she could finish her words, Sha Yanyao covered her mouth with his hand.

"That's enough!" Sha Yanyao's voice was tired. "Don't embarrass yourself here. I'll buy you a new gold bracelet later. Stop it."

Miss Tian shook off his hand, glared at Sha Yanxiao at the main courtyard gate, turned and went into her room, and Gui'er also hurried away.

Sha Yanyao came out of the side room after a while, a smile on his face: "Second brother is here? Come and sit down. I just asked the kitchen to make some chicken soup. Let's try it together."

Sha Yanxiao glanced at him and said lightly: "No, I have something to do in the courtyard, so I'll go back first." After that, he turned around and left with Gui'er.

Sha Yanxiao was a very good person. He distributed some of the harvest to his third, fourth and seventh concubines.

The fifth and sixth concubines had always had a mediocre relationship with their courtyard, and when he fled to Fengcheng in the past, they had bullied Guier, so he was even more lazy to care about them.

Gui'er picked two bags of new rice, a basket of oranges, and some dried wild duck meat, and asked Acheng to drive them to her brother Wu Dafu's house.

As soon as I entered the familiar courtyard, Wu Dafu and Wu Dahua came out to greet me, with honest smiles on their faces: "Guier is here! Come in quickly, it's windy outside."

They no longer run a furniture workshop, and the wood in the yard has been mostly cleared. They now raise chickens, which cluck loudly, and a pile of firewood for the winter in the corner makes the yard look much tidier than before.

Gui'er asked, "Where's Taohua?"

Wu Dafu smiled shyly and said, "Inside the house, she is in confinement."

Gui'er said in surprise, "It's already born. Boy or girl?"

Wu Dafu smiled and said, "It's a girl."

Gui'er hurried to the main room where they lived. Taohua was sitting on the kang coaxing the child. Seeing Gui'er come in, she stood up holding the swaddling clothes, with a shy look on her face: "Guier is here." The little girl in her arms frowned, and her eyebrows and eyes looked very much like Taohua.